The pandemic that started in 2020 hasn’t been kind to people globally. Mass infections and deaths have cast a sheath of grief and loss across the globe. Since the virus is new and the medical community got startled to deal with it, people didn’t know what to do to cope with the situation at hand. 

According to a study in MyBioSource, 30% of people have lost their loved ones and have witnessed loneliness over the covid rules. Also, about 19% of people in Arkansas and 38% of people in Delaware agree with the state rules for curbing the pandemic. The virus has impacted the health of different people in varied ways. One of the affected segments are the ones who suffer from lung cancer. 

Understanding the case for lung cancer 

The American Cancer Society says lung cancer is the second most common cancer in women and men. It is a chronic and permanent condition. The goals for treatment vary based on the extent and type of cancer. In general, the treatment must concentrate on curbing the spread and growth and eliminating cancer as much as possible. 

On the other hand, COVID-19 gets caused because of SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is the reason for millions of deaths worldwide. COVID-19 is an acute physical condition, and the symptoms tend to last for a while. Some people have a moderate illness, while others get critically ill and need to get admitted at the ICU. 

Will lung cancer place you at an increasing risk for COVID-19?

The lung cancer patients can become vulnerable to COVID-19. And the majority of the time, all these people have witnessed reduced lung function because of:

• Smoking habits
• Damage caused because of cancer
• After-effects of the earlier lung cancer surgery 
• The earlier lung or heart conditions

Since lung cancer affects lung function, getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 will add extra stress to the patient’s lungs. It can also lead to severe complications. Additionally, several people who have cancer can contract infections earlier than others. It could be due to the cancer or any other treatments they receive. For instance, the mucus inside the lungs enables you to trap the germs. However, the body can expel the germs through cough. When you have a tumor in the lungs, it can affect the mucus drainage and result in increased infections. 

That aside, other cancer treatments can make the immune system very weak. It can also make you vulnerable to the infections. Chemotherapy can lead to a weak immune system, which can aggravate the entire system when the cancer patient gets infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that people with a poor immune system and also lung cancer are at a high risk of the COVID-19. 

How Can COVID-19 Affect People Who Have Lung Cancer?

Since the people who suffer from lung cancer can get affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus easily than the rest, it is necessary to know about the complications that can occur. The complexities that lung cancer patients might witness are very much similar to what others witness. It comprises of the following:

• Pneumonia
• A secondary viral or bacterial infection
• Blood clots
• ARDS or acute respiratory distress syndrome
• Organ damage, like kidney, liver, and heart damage

Other than these, there can be other permanent complexities as well. You will take time to completely recover from all the damage caused to the lungs and other organs. It is true for people who have cancer. The people who have lung cancer are exposed to a death risk from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 

According to a study in 2021 about lung cancer and SARS-CoV-2 virus, it was discovered that the mortality due to COVID-19 was much high in people who suffer from lung cancer than others. 

The treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection for the lung cancer patients

Other than symptom relief and supportive care, many treatments were sanctioned by the FDA, which can help treat people who got infected by this deadly virus. All these treatments usually fall into two segments: monoclonal antibodies and antivirals. Simply put, the antivirals will prevent the virus from getting multiplied in the body. A few examples are:

• remdesivir (Veklury)
• molnupiravir (Lagevrio)
• nirmatrelvir with ritonavir (Paxlovid)

On the other hand, the monoclonal antibodies can enable your immune system to combat the virus. Here Bebtelovimab is a well-noted monoclonal antibody that is efficient against the exiting viral variants. 

Finally, in case you get severely ill owing to the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, various other medical treatments can enable you to obtain the right amount of oxygen. The choices here comprise of ventilation and oxygen supplementation. That aside, you need to carry on with the lung cancer treatment, but the doctor can make some modifications on how your body changes based on the virus infection.